Lemonade Spritzers with Berry Ice Cubes

Last weekend Dan and I flew to Chico, CA for our friends’ Sarah and Lucas’s wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was amazing (Sarah is a DIY genius), and the BBQ was the best I’ve ever eaten. But, it was a little hot. Like…holy-crap-it’s-110-degrees-are-those-tears-or-are-my-eyeballs-sweating hot. Luckily, Lucas and Sarah are smart, and provided a seemingly endless supply of beverages for their guests. There were chilled bottles of water everywhere, limitless Sierra Nevada beers at the bar, and gallons of self-serve sweet tea and lemonade. Plenty of fluids to hydrate with before and after hitting the dance floor!

(Look at how well my balcony garden is doing!)

Through out the wedding, Dan and I guzzled many, many glasses of pretty much anything we could get our hands on, but it was the lemonade that really drew me. Lemonade is such a great summer drink, isn’t it? Sweet, tart and so refreshing. Call me crazy, but sometimes just looking at a frosty glass of lemonade makes me feel instantly cooler and less thirsty. Which is why, when I was considering recipes for my July 4th post, I knew I had to do something with lemonade. It’s the quintessential 4th of July picnic/BBQ/party beverage!

This is a very straightforward, basic recipe. Just some classic lemonade mixed with fizzy soda water, and jazzed up with berry-filled ice cubes. It’s light, it’s sweet, and the bubbles elevate the lemonade to another level of refreshment. And, the ice cubes are fun, don’t you think? They’re made with lemonade, so they don’t dilute your drink as they melt, and the berries give the whole thing a fun, patriot visual “pop”. Definitely a great recipe for 4th of July, or just for sipping on the balcony on a hot summer day/night!

The night before you’re planning to serve this, make your ice cubes. Put some raspberries and blueberries (I used 1 raspberry + 2 blueberries per well) into each well of an ice cube tray, and then fill each well with lemonade. Freeze overnight.

In a large pitcher, combine lemonade and chilled soda water. Stir to mix, and then chill until you’re ready to serve.** If you want, you can put the rest of your berries in the lemonade to soak. They’ll infuse the lemonade with extra fruity flavor, and give it some extra color.

To serve, put a few of your berry ice cubes into each glass, then pour lemonade/soda water mixture over the ice cubes.